Lot 1 Dα

Even whilst the Seven Years' War was still ongoing, the Prussian King Friedrich II sought out the Meissen model maker Johann Joachim Kaendler personally to discuss his wish for a service after his own designs. In 1961, Otto Walcha published an archived note from Kaendler referencing the Japanese service. The note states that Friedrich II presented him with a French silver plate as a model and provided detailed instructions for the décor: “With regards to the painting, the borders of the service should be painted with yellow mosaic, the inner rim with a fine blue, slightly paler than usual, so that the yellow stands out more. His royal majesty requests that each bowl and plate be painted with an Indian animal or bird in fine proportions; camels, elephants, rhinoceros, panthers, baboons, monkeys, ostrich, cassowaries, various parrots and other Indian animals and birds (...)”. The note was countersigned by Friedrich II. This “most bizarre” of all services, intended for the Chinese House in the park of Sanssouci Palace, was completed in 1764. It originally comprised of 96 dinner plates, 72 dessert plates, four tureens and dozens of serving dishes. It is not known how many of these pieces were completed prior to the Peace of Hubertusburg. Today, dishes and plates from the service can be found scattered throughout numerous museums and collections, with some only surviving in fragments.